A representative from the Spring Warriors Column has confirmed that three new recruits from the military council have defected to the people’s side with three firearms in Kyaukkyi Township, Bago Region. The soldiers were from Infantry Battalion 584, which had entered Naungkun village in Kyaukkyi Township during a military operation on May 16. The three defectors had previously made multiple attempts to escape from the military and were not in direct contact with resistance forces before their escape. They were intercepted and taken in by Spring Warriors Column members after they fled from their camp.
The defectors, who were from training batches 8 and 9, had reportedly experienced abuse and mistreatment within the military. They have been awarded a honorarium of 3 million kyats for their defection. All three were originally civilians who had been forcibly conscripted into military service through various means of coercion. One was arrested after a fight and given the choice between prison or military service, another was seized as a porter while eating at a restaurant after visiting his wife who had just given birth, and the third was forcibly taken at knifepoint by four men in civilian clothes while visiting a restaurant near the passport office.
The defecting soldiers brought with them one MA-1 rifle and two MA-3 rifles when they joined the resistance forces. The Spring Warriors Column has issued a call for other forcibly conscripted youth and those wanting to escape from serving the military council to contact nearby resistance battalions, columns, or the Spring Warriors Column directly to defect. The group emphasizes their commitment to accepting those who wish to leave the military council’s forces and join the public’s side in the ongoing resistance against the military regime.
